Thread: Looking for input - torn meniscus

Our 6 year old lab mix has been having issues for a few months now.

We took her in the first time and we were told she probably pulled a muscle or something and to limit her activity and give her anti inflamatories. We did that for a few weeks and it helped a bit but didn't last long or fix it.

We took her in again, this time for x-rays, and were told that she likely has a torn meniscus. We were given pain meds for her while we figure out what to do. When on a heavy dosage of the meds, she seemed better, but when we cut it to half dose as instructed she was not doing well and now that it's out she just seems to lay down and very uncomfortable.

I've read up on surgical options and they all seem pretty expensive but somewhat successful. We aren't really in a position to take on a lot of debt right now. From what I've read it will get worse over time until the leg is not usable. As it stands now she struggles to get up and she tries to avoid doing so. Even when she has good days, she seems to pay for it the next day and appears very sore.

Any ideas or experience dealing with this?

I've only had experience with my dogs having minor strains and sprains. I think that if it is actually torn, then surgery is the only thing that will repair the ligament.

From all that I've read, it is very painful for the dog, and does need surgical repair, or it will worsen over time like you said, and not only cause the dog severe pain, but probable lameness.

If it were me, I'd 'shop around' with the local vets and vet clinics for a reasonable price. Unfortunately these operations cost big bucks, but if you're lucky you can find a reduced price clinic to perform the needed surgery.

There are major surgeries that are not always promising for larger breeds, like hip replacement or knee surgery, but I think a ligament mending will have a good outcome for your girl.

I know things are hard in this economy right now, but some places, like my vet clinic, will take payments. Hope you can do the best for your doggie, and she can get some relief soon.

PS: here's a very short limited review on the possible surgeries. http://www.ehow.com/facts_5668400_ex...s-surgery.html

Thanks, yeah I was reading about them last night. I scheduled an appointment for Friday to discuss options and costs with a surgeon.

bofa sorry to see your poor Lab girl is having leg problems, I cant offer any advice but just want to wish you the best outcome for you and your Lab.

Thanks for the well wishes.

Well, I went to a specialist today. She informed me that this has nothing to do with her ligaments, but is related to hip dysplasia and early onset arthritis. So the good news is no surgery for now. The bad news is all the treatments and meds are going to be a real handful and she could still need surgery in the future.

We're putting her back on Proin for incontinence. She's had "leaking" problems in the past and our regular vet prescribed this originally "as needed" and it never worked so we stopped. Apparently it's not something that is effective unless it's taken daily.

We're adding Adequan injections with loading dosages every 4 days for a month and then monthly, Tramadol for pain, Rimadyl for inflammation, Glucosamine supplements for her joints.

Plus we found out she has a very bad UTI and will need a strong anti-biotic for the next 2 weeks.

I'm also planning to order some orthopedic beds too since she clearly needs it and I'm sure it would be great for our 10 year old dog too. This has been one insanely expensive adventure. I hope it helps her.

Ugh... so I shopped around for pricing. This is going to cost us about 2 grand a year. I don't know that we can do that. I'm not sure what to do here.

Bofa, I'm so sorry to hear about your dog's medical problems. We recently had to have a lot of prescriptions for our dog. We did not get most of them at the vet because they were way more expensive. Most of her prescriptions we got at Costco. Most of them were about a third of what the vet wanted. You don't even have to be a member of Costco to get prescriptions there. We also used to buy glucosamine supplements at the tack shop. That was a huge savings. We would pay about the same for a very large container full than what we would have to pay for just a couple ounces at the vet or other places.

It can really get expensive and those are some ways we were able to save some big bucks. Thank goodness she doesn't need surgery now.

Good luck!

Sad new Bofa, so sorry for your girl. Our dog that passed on last summer had hip dysplasia and arthritis of the spine, along with numerous other medical conditions. She was just a year older than your dog. We had her on Chrondoflex, that we bought here http://www.entirelypets.com/chiibyvisy.html. Eslucky has some good ideas also to save some money. Buying in bulk, costco, etc.

Or vet has a tiny sign on his wall that says they'll match any online prices, so if you can get your pain and inflammation meds at a place like, let's just say, petmeds...they would match the price, so you'd just get it from them instead. I never took advantage of this at the time, but it's something you could ask about, or just use the online companies.

Although my dog was young, and medium sized, the vet did not recommend any hip surgery for her. He said that the results he had seen in those cases were not favorable enough for the operation. So she was on Rimydal for that, along with the Chondroflex, and I did think that helped her.

Many years ago when I was young, I had an Alaskan Malamute with knee problems, and had gotten him surgery on both back knees, well he never was right and still suffered daily with painful knees. After that my husband and I agreed that we wouldn't jump into any major surgeries for all cases.

Having a dog with numerous medical conditions is very expensive to be sure. Best wishes for your girl, I'll post if I come across any useful information.

Thanks eslucky. I'll check it out.

Sorry to hear about your dog Alpha1. If you don't mind me asking, what was the cause of death? I'm a bit nervous about having her on so many meds with possibly deadly side-effects.

Yeah, I was relieved to not be facing a 2k surgery until I realized I'll be paying that every year for the rest of her life.

Originally Posted by bofa

Sorry to hear about your dog Alpha1. If you don't mind me asking, what was the cause of death? I'm a bit nervous about having her on so many meds with possibly deadly side-effects.

We had her put down while she was with us on a camping vacation. Beside the pain meds for her hip dysplasia (rimydal), she was on potassium bromide, phenobarbital and valium for epilepsy with gran mal cluster seizures. So she became very spacey, and when frightened right after a seizure, she'd rush to stand up and cry in pain from the hip dysplasia. This didn't help her hip problem, and her front shoulders and legs started getting injured, where she was walking with a limp from that. At the end, she just lay there, couldn't get up on her own anymore and cried out when we tried to help her. She had been through so much, we decided to give her some peace.

Wow that sounds awful. Sorry to hear that.

Thanks.